We Have Been Invited To the Banquet!

Surrender and be fed!

The Lord has made Himself available to the world, yet so many refuse to receive Him. In other words, people choose to live without peace beyond understanding.

Our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 22:1-14, and we will meditate on,

“Go therefore to the streets, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.”
Matthew 22:9

Receive the Lord and be transformed!

The Parable of the Wedding Feast reminds us that the Lord calls everyone to Himself. However, the parable shows that many do not go because life gets busy. Life keeps us busy, but it should not keep us from the peace the Lord offers.

We must find time to read the Word of the Lord and apply it to our lives. We also need to pray with a faith community. It is important that others, beginning with our families, find their way to the Lord’s Feast.

I often call our time a time of rampant depression. Life struggles may be too much to bear. Feeding on the Lord and His Word is a Divine Remedy. Jesus came into our midst to bring the cure; let us take advantage of His Love and find the peace that we need during these troubling times.

Answer the Lord’s invitation with your presence now!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/8bb982a0c

Be the Tenant the Lord Wants!

There is much work to do in the Lord’s Vineyard!

May Heaven on Earth be within us and radiate throughout the world!

Our Gospel Portion for today is St. Matthew 21:33-43, and we will concentrate on,

“Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.”
Matthew 21:43

The Kingdom of God is the Vineyard of the Lord. It is where the Lord works through His people to bring Divine Peace. We are called to be the “Nation” that brings His Kingdom to the here and now.

Today is also the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. We celebrate the eight hundredth anniversary of his death and remember his example and teachings that made the Vineyard of the Lord a place that bears great fruit. St. Francis challenged himself and the world to live the Gospel’s radical love. He made the Lord present in his actions and words.

We can bemoan the problems in the world, or we can do what St. Francis did and be the better world in himself.

May we follow St. Francis’ example and be another Christlike person in the here and now.

Be the change you want to see in the world!

Sunday Blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/a5869c6d9

Your Faith Can Change the World!

Be the change in the world you want to see!

There have always been problems in the world simply because we are a sinful people; a people that is separated from Divine Love. That is why we need a Savior. The Lord had to become one of us so that we could become more like Him. This is challenging because it does not seem natural to love each other.

We must learn to live Divine Love if we want to make the world a better place to be.

Today our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 21:28-32, and we will spend some time with the following verses.

“What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he repented and went.”
Matthew 21:28-29

The Vineyard needs workers, and we are called to be them. We adapt the Lord’s words and actions to the time and culture we live in. We may have said no in the past, but the call is for the present. Say yes to the Lord and make the Vineyard a better place with a more fruitful harvest.

Today is the usual feast day of an amazing Vineyard Worker, St. Vincent de Paul. He took the words of the Lord seriously, and the orphan, the widow, and all those in need found help in making their lives better.

We are called to be the Saints of today!

We can all make the world a better place by taking the Lord’s Words seriously, first with our minds and our hearts and then with our actions.

Never use the excuse that we are not Saint material, because it is the Lord who makes the Saint! Trust Him, surrender to Him, and allow Him to make us His instruments

Happy Lord’s Day!

Pax.

https://gofund.me/4d8a3180a

Rejoice in the Generosity of the Lord!

The Lord is gracious and merciful; praise Him!

We remember that the Lord follows the Divine Will and not our standards of human interaction. He determines our relationship with Him, and that relationship is divine!

Our Gospel Portion today is St. Matthew 20:1-16, and we will concentrate on,

“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’
Matthew 20:15

Today’s Parable reveals our relationship with the Lord and His mercy. The Lord sets the rules, and they are wonderful!

In the world order, a day’s work gets a day’s pay. If we work fewer hours, we get paid based on the hours we work. However, Jesus, in this Parable, explains that our payment is not based on the time we work for the Lord, but because our payment, Salvation, is not prorated.

Remember the Good Thief, the one who stole Heaven, and his words: “Jesus, remember me when you come into Your Kingdom.” And the Lord’s response was, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

We are not to judge people, because the Lord will be the Judge.

The message of the Lord is beautiful! Every minute we can surrender to Divine Love and be forgiven. He is calling us to new life in Christ; all we have to do is listen to Him and follow His Way!

I have experienced many hurts from people whom I expected kindness from; however, I do not know how the Lord will deal with them. I pray for them and know that the Lord is mercy.

Our obligation is to live for the Lord and let our actions reveal our relationship with Him.

My friends, continue to work in the Lord’s Vineyard, and help promote Divine Love and Mercy everywhere we are.

Pax.

https://gofund.me/2dbea2293

May the Healing of the World Be Our Goal!

We know that the world is full of hate. So many people suffer because so many of us have lost the message of the Lord. We, His disciples, are called to be His presence in the world! May we be part of the healing that the Lord desires.

May we be part of the healing of the Earth!

Our Gospel Portion today is St. Matthew 18:21-35, and we will concentrate on,

“And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?”
Matthew 18:33

The Lord is merciful, and because He is our example of proper human interaction, we must go forward with mercy to everyone!

When we experience the hate of others, and we know we are doing our best to be loving, we are called to live what Jesus said on the Cross, “Father, forgive them because they do not know what they are doing!” St. Luke 23:34

We do not know what people have been through, and they may not see a problem with what they are doing, too. However, we live supernatural lives, and showing hate to those who hate us does not make the world a better place.

We are in the love business!

We control our relationships with others. We lead by example. That example comes from our relationship with the Lord. So when we experience hatred, pause, pray, and respond in truth with love.

We live in the world, but we respond to things in the world with Divine Wisdom.

Please be the change in the world that Jesus wants to see!

Please help heal the world by forgiving those who hurt you!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/d55bcd2df

The Lord Wants to Be with Us!

Praying together with our family, friends, and colleagues, the Lord will make Himself present to us.

Prayer is the answer! When we involve the Lord, our situations will improve.

Today, our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 18:15-20. We will use the following for our meditation,

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:20

We all need a Savior; the One who has been prepared for us is our Lord Jesus Christ! Many of our problems would be resolved if we involved the Lord at the beginning of our struggles.

Prayer brings the Lord into our situations. Pray before we enter into the issue at hand, pray with the people involved in the process, and pray after the discussion. I believe that prayer will help us find the approach we need to embrace if all involved are open to the Lord.

Prayer leads to prayerful responses to life situations. Prayer can bring peace to difficult interpersonal circumstances. Prayer opens our hearts to each other and reduces the power of our individual egos.

Prayer works for me. It helps me understand others and live in loving relationships. It also keeps me from being unkind.

Bring everything to the Lord in prayer and see how your life improves.

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/8017806ed

Embrace the Cross, It Was Made For You!

True peace is found in finding one’s cross and the person, however flawed one might be, who is the true self.

Our Gospel Portion today is St. Matthew 16: 21-27, and we will pray,

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24

The self that we present to the world is often not who we truly are. Expectations put great pressure on us, and appearances do matter. However, we must not let that change who we truly are as a follower of Christ. Somehow we must find the balance between what society expects of us and the Lord we serve.

We are called to be saints in the world as it exists! I am not able to tell anyone how to do this; this is our cross, and it is made especially for each of us.

What would Jesus do in our situation? This is our ongoing question wherever we are in life, and it is our way to peace. This is the call of St. John the Baptist: be the best person you can be in the job that you are doing.

For example, at the office, when people are tearing down the reputations of others not present, do not participate in the reputation assassination. Learn to walk away from things that are not appropriate to the love of the Lord.

We can make the world a better place if we are true to ourselves and to the Lord we serve.

Embrace the Cross and bring Heaven to Earth! Please struggle with me to do this!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/6bbd47472

What Does The Lord Mean To Us?

Our answer to this question determines how we live.

Today our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 16:13-20, and we will pray over the verse

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Matthew 16:15

Jesus asked this question to His disciples, and He asks us the same question. We must be careful how we answer it because that answer reveals to us how we ought to live.

Understanding our relationship to the Lord helps us understand who we are and how we live our lives. Jesus gives us a framework that sets the boundaries for how we interact with others. It also determines how we set our priorities. Living the life of having Jesus as our Lord and Savior could be a death sentence. Everyone in the Portion we have today would struggle with persecution, and most of them would experience martyrdom.

We have to really believe that Jesus is Lord because our lives depend on it.

If we join Peter in his proclamation, we must live the life that that entails. It means putting Jesus first in our decision-making. It also means we must treat people as the Lord would!

But it also means that, no matter what we have to go through, we will have the peace that the world cannot give. It also means that we have the love that changes us, those we encounter, and creates a ripple effect that brings Heaven to Earth!

Please choose Jesus as Lord and be the change you want to see in the world!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/89c6e9569

Call On the Lord; He Will Help You!

Persistent prayer is powerful!

Happy Sunday!

Today our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 15:21-28, and we will concentrate on,

But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
Matthew 15:25

Prayer is our connection with the Lord and the means of dealing with every situation we face.

In our verse this week, we have a Gentile mother whose daughter was in serious condition. The mother needed help that only a miracle could provide. Yet she did not have access to the miracle because she was not Jewish. That did not keep her from being persistent in coming to Jesus. Jesus would heal her daughter because this mother had great faith.

The Lord is still available to us as He was to this mother. Are we persistent in our prayers? Praying is the way to the Heart of the Lord, and He will see us through every situation. However, we must have faith in Him.

I have been in seemingly impossible situations, yet through prayer and prayerful action, I am here to write this today.

I live on the power of prayer!
And I share the means of peace with you. Life has its struggles, yet with the Lord’s Help, we will prosper.

Be persistent in prayer and wait on the Lord.

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/5afe834a9

Grab Onto The Hand Of The Lord!

Be not afraid! Trust the Lord even when going through troubling times! The Lord is able and will save us!

Peace, be still!

Today, our Gospel Portion is St. Matthew 14:22-33, and we will meditate on

“When he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”
Matthew 14:30

St. Peter, as he was growing in the Spirit, took a leap of faith and entered stormy waters to join the Lord. But his faith failed him, and he began to sink.

Peter shows us what to do when we see ourselves sinking: we must call on the Lord and reach out to Him!

We are never alone in our troubles. The Lord is always available to us!

Peace, be still!

No matter what we are dealing with, anxiety is a waste of time!

Prayer is the answer and the means of connecting with the Divine, who can help us find solutions to our problems.

Total trust in the Lord! He will see us through whatever we are going through!

Sunday Blessings!

Pax. The Hermit of Peace.

https://gofund.me/bdd6f4d83